In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Surrey Enver Creek Cougars dusted the Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 100-47 after leading 25-7, 55-16 and 84-30 at the quarters. “It’s almost like a team built backwards,” said Cougars coach Phil Deeks. “We don’t trot out the 6-9 post player, but at the other end, we are very long at the guard spots.” Filled with 6-foot-3 types, all of whom boast great wingspan, the Cougars’ created a defensive nightmare. We went out with a very strong lead at the half, and so I was saying to the guys that we had to make sure that we didn’t get out of our game. We had to make sure that we were still running our stuff and playing solid basketball, because we had to carry that into tomorrow’s game. And the guys wanted to get to 100 points.” Deeks added that David Ahmad “is one of those athletes, there are things he does that no coach would ever teach or coach. And when he does, many times I have turned to our team and said ‘That is a special play.’ Sometimes when the ball isn’t falling you have to reel him in and get him to slow things down, but when he gets things going in the open court, it is special. You can’t guard him with a big because he is too quick, and if you try and guard him with a guard, he is too strong.” David Ahmad paced the Cougars with 20. Aaron Nand added 17, Nicholas Jhauj 12, Parmeet Matharu 10, Indu Deivendran 10, Steven Aujla 10, Rajan Gill 8, Jayme Bains 6, Gurkirat Kular 3, Gursodh Gill 2 and Ripandeep Jaswal 2, while Arpn Kainth was scoreless. The Cougars shot 40-66 (.525) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 23 fouls, 15 turnovers, 16 steals and 5 blocks. Andrew Lamb paced the Wild with 38. Jordan Broadhead added 5, Nick Singer 2 and Ben Stropky 2, while Dylan Aston, Graham Hussey, Wyatt McCullough, Ronnie McLean and Riley Morey were scoreless. The Wild (coached by Shaun Penner) hit 11-46 (.209) from the floor, 3-21 (.143) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 15 fouls, 30 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks. …………………………………………………… The Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens dusted the Fort St. John North Peace Oscars 70-45 after leading 25-15, 43-23 and 61-28 at the quarters. Trevor Casey, Nic Hughes and Liam Hancock each scored 14 to pace the Ravens. Mike West added 12, Cam Nicol 6, Brad Peters 4, Jomari Reyes 4 and Madison Cooley 2, while Vladimir Bereznyakov, Adam Hoo, Dominik Matas, Bryce Rickaby, Andy Seo and Jason Shamatutu were scoreless. The Ravens hit 31-75 (.360) from the floor, 1-14 (.071) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 60 boards, including 30 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 25 fouls, 24 turnovers and 21 steals. Andrew Stewart paced the Oscars (making just their 4th appears at the provincials in 60 years) with 12 points and 13 boards. Mark Dyke scored 12, Cole Bausman 4, Enrique Fajemisin 4, Sean Gjernes 4, Alex Lorincz 3, Miles Savard 3, Jason Hannah 2 and Garret Whitford 1, while Garrett Gejdos was scoreless. The Oscars hit 17-46 (.304) from the floor, 0-10 from the arc and 11-27 (.407) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 12 fouls, 35 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. The Oscars (coached by Derrick Laychuk, assisted by Mike Redford) also included Jake Chong, Marat Suwannachuen and Gabriel Hermida. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs nipped the Pitt Meadows Marauders 67-64 in overtime. The Bulldogs led 22-16 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 29 at the half. The Marauders led 47-45 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 61 after regulation play. “Playing games against good teams makes you better,” said Bulldogs coach Rick Lopez. “We’re going to have some fun in the change room for a couple of minutes, then we’re going to get ready to play the best team in the province tomorrow. … We have the kind of team where we can go big or we can go small. We can play different styles depending on what it calls for, but we needed those big logs out there to work boards today and protect the paint.” They needed to slow the progress of Pitt Meadows’ senior big man Jordan Rich, who fouled out several Bulldogs. Churchill’s O’Gorman hit one of two free throws to put his team on top 61-58 with 11.7 seconds remaining, but Pitt Meadows’ Alejandro Canjura heaved a shot from half court that swished home with three seconds remaining, forcing the overtime session. “We felt like we were going to win,” said Mushiana. “We have all worked hard and we were confident.” Pitt Meadows coach Rich Goulet said “I was disappointed with the lack of effort I saw on the boards today. We got cleaned on the boards and our defensive effort was lackadaisical. We weren’t as prepared as we should have been.” Jesse Mushiana paced the Bulldogs with 13 points and 16 boards. Mindy Minhas added 13, Himmat Waraich 13, Nathan Holz 12, along with 11 boards, Andrew Claur 8, Pavandeep Kular 2 and Reegan O’Gorman 2, while Jason Claur and Kenneth Zhong were scoreless. The Bulldogs hit 23-66 (.313) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 12-22 (.545) from the line, while garnering 63 boards, including 34 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 15 fouls, 20 turnovers, 17 steals and 1 block. Jordan Rich paced the Marauders with 32 points, 13 boards and 5 blocks. Sebastien Marshall scored 13, Alejandro Canjura 9, Hakeem Wewala 4, Graham Smith 3 and Sho Nashimoto 3, while Elijah Lapurga, Enzo Tadeo, Sanj Toor and Zachary Wild were scoreless. The Marauders hit 17-37 (.381) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 9-13 (.692) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 19 fouls, 24 turnovers, 5 steals and 7 blocks. The Marauders (coached by Rich Goulet, assisted by Ron Walsmith) also included Dylan Roberts, Jordan Murley, Mark Ashamalla, Jordan Dasilva and Douglas Cruz. …………………………………………………… The Caledonia Kermodes dumped the Burnaby Mountain Lions 59-50. The Kermodes led 13-11 after one quarter. The Lions led 23-21 at the half. The Kermodes led 44-40 after three quarters. “We have a core group of eight Grade 12s that have worked hard for five years, and they have come together,” said Caledonia coach Cam MacKay, father of leading scorer Marcus MacKay. It is Caledonia’s first opening-round win at the event since 2005. Marcus Mackay paced the Kermodes with 30. Reegin Maki added 13, Patrick Kurek 7, Brennan Jay 3, Ethan Anderson 2, Keel Haldane 2 and Finnie Kynan 2, while Levi Crist, Drew Kenmuir and Camerson Netzel were scoreless. The Kermodes hit 14-48 (.297) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 7-14 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 14 fouls, 11 turnovers, 12 steals and 2 blocks. Atdhe Hajrizi paced the Lions with 21 points and 13 boards. Angelo Cruz scored 10, Jaryn Bailey 7, Taymoor Khan 6, along with 11 boards, Danny Song 4 and Karan Sanghara 2, while Nurzat Ahemaide, S Barcenas, Dominic Cruz, Tim Laramee and Christian Schlappner were scoreless. The Lions hit 18-41 (.351) from the floor, 2-16 (.125) from the arc and 8-11 (.727) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 17 fouls, 26 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. The Lions (coached by Greg Matic, assisted by Kile Cooke) also included Shane Barcenas, Stefan Gataric and Sam Chiang.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Burnaby South Rebels edged the Sardis Falcons 73-69. The score was knotted at 16 after one quarter. The Rebels led 36-33 at the half and 56-49 after three quarters. It was a case of bend but not break, said Rebels coach Dave Smith. “In the last three weeks we have been doing that, playing through for the whole 40 minutes.” The Rebels built a 14-point lead near the end of the third quarter, then gave nearly all of it back before re-trenching to stop the Falcons. When South point guard Gino Pagbilao drained a three-point bucket with 1:38 left in the third, Burnaby South looked to be comfortably ahead, holding a 54-40 lead and the momentum. But Sardis, making its school’s first B.C, tourney appearance in the 80-year history of the school, came storming back. And when Falcons’ Grade 11 big man Hayden Lejeune was fouled taking a three-pointer, he was able to step to the line with a chance to pull his team to within 71-70. Lejeune made the first two, then missed the third. After the Rebels made a free throw to make it 72-69, Sardis’ Cam Servatius launched a trey that could have tied the score with 5.2 seconds remaining. “That was a good team, and we had to stop the big guy,” Smith said of Lejeune, “so we junked it up on defence and we seemed to stall them a little. Everyone worked hard and we took control of the boards in the second half which was the difference.” The team improved vastly over the season, he added. “It’s hard to finger one thing, but individually they just got better. And they understood once the pressure was on, that they had to play together and sacrifice. Earlier in the season that wasn’t the case.” Martin Bogajev paced the Rebels with 17. Gino Pagbilao added 15, Dejan Posavljak 14, Nick Garcha 13, Jermaine Haley 7, Djordje Obradovic 4 and Taylor Smith 3. The Rebels hit 19-36 (.431) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 8-16 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 12 fouls, 20 turnovers, 12 steals and 6 blocks. Mike Gregory paced the Falcons with 18. Hayden Lejeune added 17, Jason Kroeker 11, Eric Rogers 10, Cam Servatius 7 and Jordan Vandrimmelen 6, while Devon Brandreth, Colin Kellington, Ryan McKnight and Grayden Northey were scoreless. The Falcons hit 18-45 (.333) from the floor, 7-30 (.233) from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the floor, while garnering 54 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 15 fouls, 22 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks. The Falcons (coached by Kyle Graves, assisted by Trevin Rogers) also included Evan Kellington, Scott Fitzsimmons, Josh Ens and Raphael Olivares. …………………………………………………… The W.J. Mouat Hawks clipped the North Vancouver Handsworth Royals 74-65. The Royals led 15-14 after one quarter. The Hawks led 42-33 at the half and 57-52 after three quarters. Tristan Etienne, a 6-9 grade 11 forward, dominated the paint. “He struggled a bit in the Fraser Valley championships, and for him it is all about energy and playing as hard as he can,” said Mouat coach Rich Ralston. “There was no doubt today that he came in ready to go. … “He’s an extremely efficient player. I don’t have an updated field goal percentage for him, but it’s probably 70. He scores virtually every time he touches the basketball. But our team struggles at times to get him the ball. We’re not particularly good passers – and we were terrible at the beginning.” The Hawks found themselves in a 33-23 hole in the second quarter, as they struggled with turnovers and were unable to keep track of Royals sharpshooter Luka Petkovic at the defensive end. But they ripped off a 22-0 run bridging the second and third quarters. Mitch Howden and Jesse Feenstra got a series of key baskets in transition, and power forward Daniel Pawliuk highlighted the scoring binge with a pair of three-pointers. On defence, Etienne comprehensively closed down the paint, as the much smaller Royals couldn’t get anything going inside. That allowed the Hawks to get after Handsworth’s outside shooters on the perimeter in both their zone and man defences, and the Royals went seven minutes and 35 seconds without scoring a point. “Sometimes that’s the way things happen when you play against our zone, especially in this shooting atmosphere,” Ralston said. “It’s a little bit different for the kids – by the time Saturday comes around, they’ll be used to it. But there’s a whole bunch of 1-for-12s out there from the three-point line (early in the tournament).” Mouat led 45-33 when they started their big run but the Royals trimmed the deficit to 57-52 at the end of the third quarter, and opened the fourth on an 8-2 run to regain the lead. The Hawks surged ahead again by five points, but the game wasn’t decided until Howden and Feenstra fouled out of the game on the same sequence. Howden picked up his fifth and disqualifying foul battling for an offensive rebound with 3:29 remaining, and then Feenstra earned his fifth on an unsportsmanlike call after getting into a post-whistle confrontation with Handsworth’s Arman Armini. Mouat led 67-62 at that point, but Handsworth was in the bonus and went 3-4 from the foul line to draw to within two. “That wasn’t something the referees wanted to deal with,” Ralston said of Feenstra’s unsportsmanlike foul. “It was just his emotions getting away from him a little bit.” Etienne took command down the stretch. “I knew coming into the fourth that is was a close game, and maybe my teammates would need me to score a little more. And they were definitely looking for me a lot more. We just had to stay strong. We knew it would be a tough game – every team that makes it is a good team. Basketball is a game of runs – they went on their run, and we knew we’d have a run of our own too. … It always helps my confidence when I can come out and help my team get a win. I am just trying to help us keep moving forward. We’ve been getting better and better and we are hoping that we find our peak right here at the end of the season.” Tristan Etienne paced the Hawks with 21 points, 18 boards and 5 blocks. Daniel Pawliuk scored 13, Jesse Feenstra 12, Corey Hauck 12, Mitch Howden 10, Amrit Dubb 2, Jordan Frayn 2 and Sebastien Muermann 2, while Ben Klammer and Cody Pawliuk were scoreless. The Hawks hit 20-41 (.460) from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 25-33 (.758) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls 27 turnovers, 13 steals and 9 blocks. Luka Petkovic paced the Royals with 24. Adam Karmali added 12, Arman Amini 10, Kurt Bell 7, Charlie Horn 6 and Mo Karimirad 6, while Clark Grisbrook, Finn Killam and Eric Leong were scoreless. The Royals hit 18-44 (.343) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 22 fouls, 23 turnovers and 12 steals. The Royals (coached by Blair Shier, assisted by Murray Parker and Cam Mowat) also included Jack Horn, Mike Lim, Ben Tucker, Kevin Franklin and Conor Power. …………………………………………………… The Yale Lions crushed the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 95-63 after leading 27-6, 44-22 and 75-48 at the quarters. Lions coach Al Friesen was unimpressed that his troops eased off the pedal. The Lions broke to a 35-6 lead but then allowed the Kermodes to play them even. “We tend to have lapses (in focus), and that’s our biggest weakness,” said Friesen. “It’s what we’ve done all year. When we’re winning, we relax. When we’re losing, we get a little down (emotionally). And by the time we catch ourselves, we’re down 10 or 12 points, and now you’re struggling. Against this team, we just come back and score more points. But against a very good team, it’s not that easy. That’s the step we’re trying to get to this year.” Yale point guard Jauquin Bennett-Boire said “we rebounded, and mentally we were in the game, 100 per cent focused. The guys who came in off the bench played well. (Friesen) was disappointed in us in the second half and near the end of the first, because he knows we can do that for 40 minutes a game, and so do we.” Friesen said Falls was solid on both ends of the floor. “Abraham did an awesome job,” he said. “He listened and did what he was asked – he got on the glass, got on the floor. … We’re going to need him big-time.” J.J. Pankratz paced the Lions with 25 points and 11 boards. Jauquin Bennett-Boire added 21, along with 11 assists, Patrick Vandervelden 16, along with 11 boards, Abraham Falls 13, along with 17 boards, Jasdeep Gill 11, Sasha Otanga 5, Bilrajbir Lally 3 and Kyle Innes 2, while Anoka Athaya and Ashton Kendall were scoreless. The Lions hit 30-54 from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 8-16 from the line, while garnering 61 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 12 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Patrick Kurek paced the Kermodes with 21. Marcus Mackay added 13, Reegin Maki 13, Finnie Kynan 8, Brennan Jay 5, Keel Haldane 2 and Drew Kenmuir 1, while Ethan Anderson, Alexander Ranovic, Matthew Brown, Levi Crist, Aidan Griffith, Camerson Netzel and Marek Ormerod were scoreless. The Kermodes hit 12-45 (.311) from the floor, 11-29 (.379) from the arc and 6-14 (.429) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block. The Kermodes (coached by Cam MacKay, assisted by Joseph Dominguez) also included Kai Davies, Matthew Hart and Tristan Walker. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver St. Georges Saints dumped the Victoria Claremont Spartans 93-80 after leading 27-16, 49-35 and 71-58 at the quarters. “The lights are bright here and it was intimidating, but we came out and played hard and aggressive,” said Saint George’s 6-foot-7 Grade 11 swingman Drew Urquhart. “Today, my shot was falling but I stayed aggressive.” Saints coach Bill Drisbow said “I give Drew an eight-out-of-10. I think he was real good, but I think he can be better.” Drew Urquhart paced the Saints with 26 points and 21 boards. Tylon Barker added 24, along with 12 boards, Deklan Chung 21, Will Chamberlain 13, James Choi 8 and Derek Safnuk 1, while Ali Jamal, Winston Jin and Ethan Scott were scoreless. The Saints hit 29-57 (.466) from the floor, 5-16 (.312) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 15 fouls, 14 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Mason Loewen paced the Spartans with 27. Caillum White added 21, Yvan Atemgoua 11, Zac Christianson 6, Max Cullen 5, Alex Jordache 4, Taylor Stinson-Montgomery 2, Jordan Green 2 and Luke Collumbin 2, while H Jefferson, Bryson Prince and Jaamel Slack were scoreless. The Spartans hit 28-62 (.405) from the floor, 6-32 (.188) from the arc and 6-15 (.400) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 21 fouls, 9 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. The Spartans (coached by Brandon Dunlop, assisted by Davey Sundher and Amandeep Vaid) also included Jackson Pauls and Harpar Gill. …………………………………………………… The Walnut Grove Gators defeated the Vancouver Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 74-62 after leading 17-15, 39-30 and 59-49 at the quarters. “I am looked upon to score a lot but my whole goal was to shut down Mindy (Minhas),” said Jadon Cohee. “He played a hell of a game. Once we’re on the court, the friendship is off. But after 40 minutes, we’re friends again.” Minhas was dejected. “If you’re not first, you’re last. I am going to be thinking about this all of next season. But I know we are only going to get better from here.” Gators coach George Bergen noted that “sometimes you have to win ugly, gritty and we did that today. In the second half we got a little bit grittier and we won the battle on the glass.” The Gators led 68-62 with 2:20 remaining when Churchill guard Andrew Claur drove the baseline for a layup. “They had scouted us fairly well because they did a good job in defensive transition opportunities. But in the second half, we got grittier and we won the battle on the glass.” Jadon Cohee paced the Gators with 21. Sam Shin added 15, Josh Mayorga 12, along with 10 boards, Sheldon Derlon 12, Paul Getz 8, Brad Hoffman 3 and David Wolde-Mariam 3, while Tom Guingab was scoreless. The Gators hit 18-49 (.338) from the floor, 7-25 (.280) from the arc and 17-28 (.607) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 11 turnovers, 14 steals and 2 blocks. Mindy Minhas paced the Bulldogs with 27 points and 16 boards. Jesse Mushiana added 18, Himmat Wariach 8, Andrew Claur 7 and Nathan Holz 2, while Jason Claur and Kenneth Zhong were scoreless. The Bulldogs hit 15-38 (.386) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 11-20 (.550) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 19 fouls, 23 turnovers and 4 steals. The Bulldogs (coached by Rick Lopez) also included Patrick Garces, Sasha Kosmajac, Pavandeep Kular, Harman Locham, Reegan O’Gorman, Jatin Sarpal, Anojh Thayaparan, Marco Wan, Han Chen Wang and Marvin Yiu. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons dumped the Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 65-54. The Blue Demons led 17-14 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 28 at the half. The Blue Demons led 46-36 after three quarters. “They didn’t go away and they played good on the interior, they did a good job of stopping Luka from getting the ball,” Blue Demons coach Randy Coutts said. “But that said, we looked offensively stagnant with the ball. Our guys, their legs looked heavy and I don’t know if that was the first game of the tournament or what. Hopefully this is a wakeup call for us.” The Ravens, who had three Grade 10 players on the floor down the stretch drive, pulled to within four late before coming up short. Luka Zaharijevic paced the Blue Demons with 19 points and 15 boards. Noah Derappard-Yuswack added 16, along with 15 boards, Tom Campbell 13, Justin Sze 9 and Cole Peterson 8, while Andrew Cassie, Jonathan Kongbo and Stefan Sokic were scoreless. The Blue Demons hit 21-56 (.333) from the floor, 0-7 from the arc and 23-34 (.676) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers, 9 steals and 7 blocks. Mike West paced the Ravens with 15. Liam Hancock added 11, Jomari Reyes 8, Trevor Casey 6, Madison Cooley 6, Nic Hughes 4, Brad Peters 3 and Cam Nicol 1, while Andy Seo was scoreless. The Ravens hit 20-50 (.300) from the floor, 1-20 (.050) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 24 fouls, 16 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. The Ravens (coached by Steve Hanson, assisted by Brad Petersen and Andrew Ruditsch) also included Dominik Matas, Adam Hoo, Vladimir Bereznyakov, Jason Shamatutu and Bryce Rickaby. …………………………………………………… The Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors nipped the Surrey Enver Creek Cougars 69-66 after leading 23-10, 40-27 and 53-47 at the quarters. Enver Creek’s Aaron Nand hit two free throws with 0.6 seconds on the clock to force overtime, but the Warriors scored the first five points of the extra session. “Enver is a great team, they have a lot of length and a lot of weapons,” said White rock coach Dale Shury. “I knew we had to play close to our best game to beat them. We didn’t, but I can’t take anything away from the effort that they gave tonight.” The Warriors bolted out to a 23-10 lead, and Enver Creek trailed by as many as 15 points before Phil Deeks’ squad roared back in the fourth quarter. Vartan Tanielian paced the Warriors with 20 points and 14 boards. Peter Spangehl added 19 points and 16 boards. Matt Perrin scored 14, Sam Ykema 6, along with 10 boards, Tyus Allen 6 and Corey Barker 4, while Gabe Dix was scoreless. The Warriors hit 15-34 (.324) from the floor, 9-40 (.225) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 6 steals and 5 blocks. Gurkirat Kular paced the Cougars with 23. Rajan Gill added 12, Nicholas Jhauj 11, David Ahmad 10, Parmeet Matharu 5 and Aaron Nand 5, while Steven Aujla was scoreless. The Cougars hit 20-52 (.359) from the floor, 3-12 (.250) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 16 fouls, 18 turnovers and 10 steals. The Cougars (coached by Phil Deeks) also included Gursodh Gill, Indu Deivendran, Ajay Hara, Jeetpal Grewal, Ripandeep Jaswal, Jayme Bains and Arpn Kainth. …………………………………………………… The South Kamloops Titans defeated the Victoria Belmont Bulldogs 65-59. The score was knotted at 7 after one quarter. The Titans led 38-19 at the half and 60-46 after three quarters. Jacob Adams paced the Titans with 25 points and 10 boards. Elijah Hillis-Gold added 19, Reid Sellars 12, Tye Desrosiers 6 and Cooper Butchart 3, while Drew Eliason and Ben Sama were scoreless. The Titans hit 15-39 (.411) from the floor, 8-17 (.471) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 14 fouls, 9 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks. Erik Spaven paced the Bulldogs with 32 points and 10 boards. Owen Vaags added 10, Daniel Massy 7, Kane Johnston 6, Doug Waterman 2 and Brayden Henson 2, while Jared Hall, Jordan Hines and Christian Spaven were scoreless. The Bulldogs hit 22-48 (.410) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 6-13 (.462) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 16 fouls, 11 turnovers and 5 steals. The Bulldogs (coached by Kevin Brown) also included Travis Wilson, Frank Shi, Jack Wenstob, Brandon Scarfe, Jakob Purdy and Reggie Bast.
In the quarterfinals, the Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors edged the Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 72-69 in overtime. The Hawks led 19-15 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 32 at the half. The Warriors led 49-48 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 66 after regulation. Hawks 5-11 point guard Corey Hauck hit two critical treys in the final 19.3 seconds of regulation play, including one to tie that game at 66 with 1.3 seconds on the clock to force overtime. But 5-11 Warrior guard Tyus Allen, the son of White Rock founder and Trinity Western University coach Scott Allen, kept effectively attacking the paint off the dribble, going straight at Hawk post Tristan Etienne, to keep the Warriors in the game. “It is amazing when you see him, going into the forest,” said Shury. “He goes in strong. I don’t know how he does it. It’s all inside. It’s all heart.” After Hauck’s heroics sent the game into OT, Etienne had a chance to tie the game at 71, but missed a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left in the five-minute extra session. Allen then missed a pair for WRCA, but teammate Corey Barker hit one free throw, his only point of the contest, giving WRCA a three-point cushion at 72-69. Hauck, who hit six triples on the night, had a chance to send the game into a second overtime, but was unable to hit his seventh as the game clock expired. Sam Ykema hit a critical trey in overtime for the Warriors to help them pull out the win. Hauck had a chance at a second buzzer-beater, launching another potential game-tying trey from virtually the same spot on the floor. This time, the ball rolled around the rim and fell out. “I thought it was in, personally,” the Grade 11 point guard said. “But it was just short. We battled hard. We knew coming into the game they were going to battle hard too, so we just tried to work as hard as we could.” The Hawks had fought the Warriors to a 32-32 stalemate at halftime, then opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run. But White Rock clawed back to a five-point advantage early in the fourth quarter after Tyus Allen and Matt Perrin opened the frame with back-to-back three-pointers. But Mouat stayed within striking distance, and Hauck rewarded his teammates’ resilience with his triple to force overtime. “I don’t know what was going through my mind. I just pulled up, and after I pump-faked him, it just went it. I was just feeling it. It felt good.” Tyus Allen paced the Warriors with 17 points and 10 boards. Sam Ykema scored 22, Matt Perrin 12, Vartan Tanielian 6, Peter Spangehl 4, along with 14 boards, and Corey Barker 1, while Gabe Dix was scoreless. The Warriors hit 12-33 (.359) from the floor, 11-31 (.355) from the arc and 15-30 from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Corey Hauck paced the Hawks with 27. Tristan Etienne added 25, Mitch Howden 8, Daniel Pawliuk 4, Jordan Frayn 3 and Jesse Feenstra 2, while Amrit Dubb, Ben Klammer and Sebastian Muermann were scoreless. The Hawks hit 15-42 (.343) from the floor, 9-28 (.321) from the arc and 12-22 (.545) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 22 fouls, 11 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. The Hawks (coached by Rich Ralston, assisted by Frank Muermann) also included Randy Bassi, Raymond Dhmarit, Cody Pawliuk, Manveer Dhillon, Harley Meyers-Hansen, Austin Petersen, Hunter Struthers, Logan York and Karn Gill.
The Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons dusted the South Kamloops Titans 76-62 after leading 15-14, 38-20 and 61-30 at the quarters. Kits’ forward Luka Zaharijevic said “we’ve worked so hard the last month to try and get there.” Kits outscored South Kamloops 46-16 over the middle two quarters, leading by as many as 36. Noah Derappard-Yuswack paced the Blue Demons with 16. Justin Sze added 13, Tom Campbell 11, Jonathan Kongbo 10, along with 13 boards, Luka Zaharijevic 10, along with 11 boards, Stefan Sokic 7, Cole Peterson 4, Vibor Mathur 3 and Andrew Cassie 2, while Mark Van Elk, James Hynes and Jason Merz were scoreless. The Blue Demons hit 21-40 (.467) from the floor, 7-20 (.350) from the arc and 13-26 from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 16 fouls, 12 turnovers, 6 steals and 6 blocks. Elijah Hillis-Gold paced the Titans with 23. Jacob Adams added 22, Drew Eliason 8, Reid Sellars 5 and Tye Desrosiers 4, while Cooper Butchart, Evan Choy and Ben Sama were scoreless. The Titans hit 10-31 (.300) from the floor, 11-39 (.282) from the arc and 9-22 (.409) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 18 fouls, 11 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. The Titans (coached by Tim Unaegby, assisted by Josh Wolfram and Bryce McMillan) also included Josh Graham, Shiloh Catcheside and Zeru Asress.
The Vancouver St. Georges Saints dumped the Abbotsford Yale Lions 96-85 after leading 19-14, 38-37 and 52-51 at the quarters. The Saints broke to a 12-0 lead but coached Bill Drisbow said he expected the Lions to rally, as they did, with a 12-3 run. “I thought Yale, the way they were playing, were perhaps the best team in the tournament,” said Disbrow. “But I think we have been getting a lot better.” The Saints balance down the stretch proved the difference. The Saints broke to an early 12-0 lead but Yale responded with a 12-3 run. St. George’s maintained a slim margin until the Lions knotted the score 59-59 on a pair of free throws by Jauquin Bennett-Boire. But on the next possession, 6-7 grade 11 post Drew Urquhart worked his way into the paint for a layup plus the foul. He made the ensuing free throw to give the Saints a lead they would not relinquish. Lions coach Al Friesen said his team just wasn’t able to get over the hump. “You need that personality on the team, that one guy who is going to light a fire. You look at the kids – they’re very, very polite and kind. But they don’t talk to each other, they don’t encourage each other, scold each other. They don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. They wish the best, but wishing? You can wish for a pony. I did all the time when I was a kid. Never got one.” Drew Urquhart paced the Saints with 27 points and 20 boards. Deklan Chung scored 23, Ethan Scott 19, Tylon Barker 16, Will Chamberlain 9 and James Choi 2, while Ali Jamal was scoreless. The Saints hit 24-50 (.410) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 24-34 (.706) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 17 fouls, 7 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Jauquin Bennett-Boire paced the Lions with 28 points and 16 boards. J.J. Pankratz scored 26, Jasdeep Gill 16, along with 10 boards, Patrick Vandervelden 6, Paul Baadsvik 4, Abraham Falls 2, Ashton Kendall 2 and Bilrajbir Lally 1. The Lions hit 26-62 (.344) from the floor, 6-31 (.194) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 66 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 26 fouls, 14 turnovers, 3 steals and 6 blocks. The Lions (coached by Al Friesen, assisted by Chris Gaudet, Jay Pankratz and Nathan Kendall) also included Anoka Athaya, Abraham Falls, Connor Yip, Travis Paivarinta, Kyle Innes and Sasha Otanga.
In the last quarterfinal, the Walnut Grove Gators clubbed the Burnaby South Rebels 93-51 after leading 20-18, 46-26 and 65-40 at the quarters. Walnut Grove exploded in the second quarter, out-scoring the Rebels 26-8 in the 10 minutes and never looking back. “Today was a pissed off win,” said Gators coach George Bergen. “Yesterday, we had to dig deep into the reserves. Tonight, we wanted to play our game: transition.” Forward Josh Mayorga, who was named player of the game, said “we ran the ball a lot better. We played our game and we dominated the glass, which is key. We need to play angry. Angry gets big wins.” After the Rebels went on a mini-run to close the first quarter deficit to two points, Walnut Grove altered their defensive game plan and seized control, dominating in every category. The win elated Brad Hoffman, who spent the season in and out of the line-up with injuries, including two ankle sprains, a torn bicep and shin splints. “I have spent more time off the court this season than on it,” he said after lighting up the Rebels. “It was great to be back. I haven’t had it all year, so it felt great to do it now.” Hoffman’s return helped improve the Gators, along with the emergence of forward David Wolde-Mariam and the Ontario transfer of Mayorga. It wasn’t hard for Mayorga to fit in, said Hoffman. “He is a great guy and his style totally fit with ours. He was exactly what we needed: A big body that can rebound.” As for Wolde-Mariam, said Hoffman, “he got cut from the Grade 9 team, so doing what he is doing, working hard, is how he made the team, and how he has gotten to where he has.” Walnut Grove turned it on with a 26-8 second quarter, then pressed down on the gas pedal. Josh Mayorga paced the Gators with 23 points and 15 boards. Brad Hoffman scored 18, Jadon Cohee 15, David Wolde-Mariam 10, along with 10 boards, Sheldon Derton 7, Sam Shin 7, Paul Getz 6, Trevor Siemiatkowski 5 and Tom Guingab 2, while Bryce Derton, Varun Kumar, Zephan McMillan and Mitchell McPhail were scoreless. The Gators hit 29-61 (.424) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 14-22 (.636) from the arc, while garnering 67 boards, including 32 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 10 fouls, 12 turnovers, 3 steals and 1 block. Martin Bogajev paced the Rebels with 15. Gino Pagbilao added 11, Dejan Posavljak 10, Nick Garcha 7, Taylor Smith 4, Jermaine Haley 2 and Djordje Obradovic 2, while William He, Igor Mahajlovic and Milos Savic were scoreless. The Rebels hit 14-30 (.333) from the floor, 7-33 (.212) from the arc and 9-31 (.400) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 17 fouls, 17 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. The Rebels (coached by Dave Smith) also included J.C. Pineda, Stacey Zhang and Brett Timwell.
In the semis, the Walnut Grove Gators dispatched the Vancouver St. Georges Saints 71-60 after leading 15-13, 29-27 and 48-43 at the quarters. The Gators broke open a game that featured 11 ties with a decisive 14-3 run down the stretch. “I’d be lying to you if I said this was a regular basketball game,” said Walnut Grove coach George Bergen. “It’s a fabulous feeling. We made the run primarily because of our 1-3-1 defence. It gave them a lot of indecision.” The contest was tied at 52, 54, 55 and finally 57, before the Gators used their aggressively situated zone defence to create turnovers, getting a big jump-hook basket from Brad Hoffman, and a steal for a layup by Sam Shin to fuel the run. As well, the Saints lost both of its starting guards — James Choi and Deklan Chung — to fifth and disqualifying fouls 18 seconds apart in the final two minutes of play. “We worked so hard for this, to make if back to the final, I am so proud of all the boys,” said Jaden Cohee. “The breaking point for us, is we run so much in practice, coach puts us in situations like this, where we’re so tired after we run eight or nine sets of lines, and then it a situation for us like, say, four minutes left and 10 points down, and now we have to compete.” Saints coach Bill Drisbow was dejected. “It’s always hard, this is the most tight-knit team I have ever coached. They really, truly love each other, and it is truly hard to say goodbye. They are having a hard time as I am too. The foul trouble hurt us, but I am proud of what we did. I thought from the start of the season that Walnut would be tough to beat and that experience of having been here before made them a tough out.” Jadon Cohee paced the Gators with 24 on 6-13 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 12-16 from the line, 8 boards, 7 assists and 5 steals. Paul Getz added 16 on 6-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Sam Shin added 13 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Josh Mayorga scored 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 9 boards and 3 steals. Brad Hoffman added 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Sheldon Derlon scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Tom Guingab and David Wolde-Mariam were scoreless. The Gators hit 19-47 (.342) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 15-21 (.714) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 16 fouls, 15 turnovers, 13 steals and 1 block. Tylon Barker paced the Saints with 18 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Drew Urquhart added 15 on 7-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 12 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Deklan Chung added 15 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Ethan Scott scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 3 boards. James Choi added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Will Chamberlain scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Ali Jamal was scoreless. The Saints hit 19-40 (.393) from the floor, 5-21 (.238) from the arc and 7-14 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 15 fouls, 20 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks.
In the other semi, the Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors nipped the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 74-72 after leading 15-14, 32-28 and 55-51 at the quarters. With the score tied 72-72 and 29 seconds remaining on the fourth-quarter clock, the Warriors cleared out one side of the floor for Tyus Allen, and after teammate Vartan Tanielian ran the clock down to about seven seconds and got the ball to Allen, he attacked the rim for a layup with 2.3 seconds remaining. “Oh man,” Allen told the Vancouver Province. “If I had missed that shot, I would have had nightmares. … We drew up the play for Vartan, and then I just wasn’t able to get open because (Kitsilano forward Jonathan) Kongbo was all up in my face. So, we looked at each other and I said ‘I’ll run the play’, so we switched spots, the seas split and I was able to take it to the hoop.” Kitsilano coach Randy Coutts said “our rotation on that last play was not very good. That should have been stopped. Bottom line, we gave them way too easy a look at the end and our rotation was really slow. I don’t know if we didn’t have any legs at the end, but it just didn’t happen. But the bottom line is, (WRCA) played very well. Vartan, he killed us in the first half and he stepped up and hit big shots down the stretch. We got him low on the shot clock and he stepped up in critical points. There were three times in the fourth quarter where we got them down to under five on the shot clock and they hit shots.” The contest was close the entire way, with WRCA’s 55-47 advantage, the biggest of the game. But Kits’ Sze scored on a dribble-drive layup with 42.3 seconds left, then tied the score at 72 after a layup following a steal by Noah DeRappard-Yuswack. That set the stage for a WRCA team which just minutes earlier had lost forward Peter Spangehl to his fifth and disqualifying foul, and had gotten to the final by winning back-to-back overtime games in the Sweet 16 round, and in the Elite 8, just to get to Friday’s game. “Honestly, it’s because we survived those two overtime losses and we learned to deal with the adversity,” said Tanielian. “We have learned to deal with adversity and pain.” WRCA head coach Dale Shury summed it up: “We always do just enough to win, and that’s all we need to do and we just have to do it one more time. We’ve been on a mission since the beginning of the year. We’ve worked through any kind of missteps, and we fully believed that we were going to be there (in the final). We’ve accomplished that.” Vartan Tanielian paced the Warriors with 29 on 8-19 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Tyus Allen added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Sam Ykema added 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 assists. Peter Spangehl scored 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Matt Perrin scored 4 on 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards, while Corey Barker was scoreless while nabbing 3 boards. The Warriors hit 21-41 (.439) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers, 3 steals and 4 blocks. Luka Zaharijevic paced the Blue Demons with 24 on 9-18 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 15 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Justin Sze added 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 6-15 from the line and 3 assists. Tom Campbell added 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Noah Derappard-Yuswack added 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jonathan Kongbo scored 7 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards, while James Hynes, Cole Peterson and Stefan Sokic were scoreless. The Blue Demons hit 23-55 (.377) from the floor, 3-14 (.214) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 15 fouls, 11 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver St. Georges Saints stomped the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 85-66 after leading 24-20, 42-34 and 68-45 at the quarters. Deklan Chung, who was named the defensive MVP on the tournament, paced the Saints with 29 on 9-14 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Drew Urquhart added 25 on 9-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 13 boards and 3 assists. James Chio notched 7 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 8 steals. Tylon Barker added 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Will Chamberlain added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Derek Safnuk added 4, along with 5 boards, Ethan Scott 4, Jungroan Lin 2 and Rajen Gill 2, while Ali Jamal, Winston Jin, Joseph Lu and Mitchell Tang were scoreless. The Saints hit 29-52 (.465) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 15-16 (.938) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 15 fouls, 12 turnovers, 11 steals and 6 blocks. Stefan Sokic paced the Blue Demons with 16 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Luka Zaharijevic added 15 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 14 boards. James Hynes added 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 6-8 from the line. Noah Derappard-Yuswack added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Justin Sze added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Cole Peterson added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Vibor Mathur added 3, Mark Van Elk 3, along with 3 boards, Tom Campbell 2, along with 4 boards and 2 steals, and Jonathan Kongbo 2, along with 3 boards and 2 assists, while Andrew Cassie and Jason Merz were scoreless. The Blue Demons hit 17-48 (.301) from the floor, 5-25 from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 13 fouls, 17 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. The Blue Demons (coached by Randy Coutts, assisted by Trevor Mills, Sylvestor Noel and Jim Merz) also included Anthony Hokansen, Peter Kokalov and Kenya Gerald.
In the final, the Walnut Grove Gators defeated the Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors 59-56 after leading 20-15, 32-26 and 42-39 at the quarters. “This is the greatest feeling in the world,” said tournament MVP Walnut Grove point guard Jadon Cohee who scored a game-high 22 points and was picked the tourney MVP. “This is the best day of all of our lives.” Gators coach George Bergen noted that “last year, we experienced the old ‘whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ And you know what? No one got killed. So, to quote John Wooden: ‘Failure is never fatal.’” The Warriors had battled back from a nine-point second-half deficit to tie the score 53-53 on a 9-0 run capped by a short Vartan Tanielian jumper, but Cohee responded with a spinning layup with 1:24 remaining and the Gators hit four free throws over the final 47 seconds to offset a Sam Ykema trey. The Gators had defeated the Warriors 73-64 three weeks earlier in the Fraser Valley playoff final. “I think the thing that won the game for us tonight was the run we had to start the fourth quarter,” Cohee, whose trey with 5:34 left had given the Gators a 53-44 lead, told the Vancouver Province. Veteran guard Brad Hoffman, injured for much of his senior season, was exceptional off the bench. Gators forward Paul Getz said “this is just icing on the cake. We were here last year and were upset but this year, all the hard work… it feels good.” Cohee said “basketball is a game of peaks and valleys. We went on a peak and they responded. We just knew if we played Gator basketball for two minutes, we would win the game.” As for the spinner, Cohee said, “they just kept overplaying me, so I went to a secondary move, which is the spin.” Following Cohee’s basket, Sam Shin came up with a steal on the defensive end and was fouled on his drive to the hoop. He hit one of his two free throws to make it a three-point game and after White Rock Christian missed a three-point attempt, the Gators got the rebound, forcing the Warriors to foul. Bergen said he “blocked out” last year’s loss in the final. “What was going through my mind was this is our time. “I knew in the last few minutes, we were going to wrap it up. A resilient group of guys; they remember what that feeling (of losing) was.” Cohee said “coming into this year, we knew what the feeling was like and we were not going to let it happen again. We were not going to go through that twice.” Getz said “this year, we were so hungry for it. … We just rallied together and just had to go out and give it everything. This is the moment of my life.” Josh Mayorga said “I heard about it so much I started to feel like I was there. I shared that with them (and) didn’t want to let them down.” Bergen said “they worked their butts off this summer and fall and rightfully deserve this (championship). I couldn’t be more prouder; a great group of guys. Never bitched or complained about practice, so what else could a coach dream for?” The Gators had met a sports psychologist, Jon Lee Kootnekoff, midway through the season. “He said the trophy we have to work for every single night is this box of chocolates,” said assistant coach Jared Bergen. “We carried it with us for every game after he gave it to us because it was our incentive; every game we play has to be championship-style basketball.” For the rest of the season, Bergen — who serves as one of the assistants on his dad George’s staff — carried the chocolates in his bag. “I would show it to the boys, and say this is our championship trophy,” he said. “If this is where we play, from the heart, then we can’t be stopped.” Bergen said the players had been looking forward to ripping the box open to finally taste the chocolates. Bergen, a player for the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute when the school won the provincial title in 1970, told the Vancouver Sun that “as a player it was a fabulous feeling. But this is good, probably a little sweeter. To see a bunch of young men so determined to fulfil what they needed to do, so willing to learn and so willing to be teammates, you can’t beat that.” Getz said “we were so close last year. That’s why winning this year meant so much more. And we know how special it was for him (Bergen).” Cohee said the loss in the 2012 final was a motivator. “At the time, losing last year to Fox was the worst moment of my life. But it was really a blessing in disguise. It made me work that much harder. Every time I didn’t want to wake up in the morning, to go shoot at practice, I had that banner to remind me. It makes me wake up early, go to school, shoot and shoot again. It just motivates me.” White Rock coach Dale Shury said “you never want to lose your last game, especially when it’s the championship game. It was so close. Even when they opened it up to nine, I didn’t think they were going to run away with it. I knew we’d be able to tighten it back up again, and we did. We just couldn’t quite get there. We did have some sloppy, unforced turnovers, especially in the fourth quarter. We missed some shots, too – our shooting percentage was down, but so was Walnut Grove’s, that’s just the way it went.” The teams had played three times earlier in the season, with White Rock winning twice. We’re pretty well-matched with them across the board…at the beginning of the season, I really thought we’d be one and two, us and Grove, and here we are. Once you get to the final, anything can happen… they just got this one.” The game was the culmination of what Shury called “a three-year ride” for the Warriors, nearly all of whom are in Grade 12 this year. As juniors, the group won a provincial title. “We won a junior championship, won some other stuff along the way, but couldn’t win the big one, but me personally, I’ve just had a blast with these kids the last three years,” Shury said. “More than anything, it’s not even basketball-related. It’s the way they’ve represented their school, their families. From us as coaches, you can’t ask for any more than that. They’re just a great bunch of young men.” Jadon Cohee, who was chosen player of the game, paced the Gators with 22 on 8-19 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 4 boards and 4 steals. Brad Hoffman added 11 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Paul Getz added 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Josh Mayorga added 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 steals. David Wolde-Mariam scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Sam Shin added 4 on 0-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists, while Sheldon Derton and Tom Guingab were scoreless. The Gators hit 15-42 (.344) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 15 fouls, 9 turnovers and 9 steals. Peter Spangehl paced the Warriors with 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Tyus Allen added 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 12 boards and 5 assists. Sam Ykema notched 13 on 2-7 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 10 boards. Vartan Tanielian added 10 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Matt Perrin added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, while Corey Barker was scoreless. The Warriors hit 13-31 (.317) from the floor, 7-32 (.219) from the arc and 6-8 (.750) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 12 fouls, 14 turnovers and 2 steals.
The bronze medalist Vancouver St. Georges Saints: Deklan Chung; Drew Urquhart; James Chio; Tylon Barker; Will Chamberlain; Derek Safnuk; Ethan Scott; Jungroan Lin; Rajen Gill; Ali Jamal; Winston Jin; Joseph Lu; Mitchell Tang; coach Bill Drisbow; assistant Richard Cohee; assistant Karlo Villanueva; assistant Aaron Graystone; manager Jon Hayduk
The silver medalist Surrey White Rock Christian Warriors: Peter Spangehl; Tyus Allen; Sam Ykema; Vartan Tanielian; Matt Perrin; Corey Barker; Ben Stenner; Gabe Dix; Owen Han; Glen Johnston; Kyler Kettner; coach Dale Shury; assistant Doug Lopushinsky; assistant Scott Allen; manager Evan Leek; manager Gabriella Shury; manager Carlos Brosas
The gold medalist Langley Walnut Grove Gators: Jadon Cohee; Brad Hoffman; Paul Getz; Josh Mayorga; David Wolde-Mariam; Sam Shin; Sheldon Derton; Tom Guingab; Adam Paroo; Lucas Hodgson; Zephan McMillan; Varun Kumar; Mitchell McPhail; Bryce Derton; Trevor Siemiatkowski; coach George Bergen, assistant Mike Cohee; assistant Joel Wollenbery; assistant Jared Bergen; assistant Mike Brouwer; manager Josh Shopland